Indian police filmed helping mob beat thief

Dramatic footage of a petty thief being beaten and dragged behind a police motorcycle in a Rodney King-style attack in eastern India has caused outrage among human rights groups and raised fresh question about the routine brutality of India's police.

The snatch thief, Mohammed Aurangzeb, was surrounded by a baying mob after he attempted to snatch a gold chain from the neck of a woman in the lawless Indian state of Bihar.

Televised video footage from Bhagalpur district shows the half-naked man being punched and kicked as he lies writhing in the mud, begging for mercy as blows rain down on his back, shoulders and torso.

A few minutes into the beating two policemen are seen to arrive and join in the attack before tying the thief's legs together and dragging him through the street from a motorcycle driven by a grey-haired sub-inspector.

The policeman has been suspended from duties pending an investigation.